Variable drawer accessory for household refrigerators



March 4, 1958 J. F. MoRGAN 2,825,517

VARIABLE DRAWER ACCESSORY FOR HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATORS Filed oct. 12, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 1 Ff@ i l5 IN VEN TOR.

March 4; 1958. J. F. MORGAN VARIABLE DRAWER ACCESSORY FOR HOUSEHOLD REFRQGERATORS Filed Oct. l2, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. Jnai'haw fMorgarz,

Unite States les VARIABLE DRAWER ACCESSORY FOR HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATORS Application October 12, 1955, Serial No. 539,957

1 Claim. (Cl. S12-351) The present invention relates to a variable drawer accessory for household refrigerators, and is particularly concerned with the provision of an improved refrigerator construction that is adaptable to the needs of various users of refrigerators and applicable to existing refrigerator structures.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved refrigerator drawer construction including a multiplicity of different drawer sizes, depths, Widths, and arrangements adapted to satisfy the personal needs of each consumer and adapted to be installed in existing refrigerator cabinets by the consumer for any of a multiplicity of drawer uses, such as storing candy, desserts, salads, eggs, beverages, lunch cigarettes, cigars, gum, bacon, cheese, steaks, canned storage, medicine, and vitamins.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved drawer unit, comprising a basic frame, drawer guides, and a multiplicity of diierent sizes and shapes of drawers adapted to be slidably mounted in said unit so that they may be installed in existing refrigerator structures in place of certain shelves, crispers, baskets, or the like, when the latter are removed.

Another object is the provision of a personal center framework unit for drawers of a multiplicity of different sizes and shapes, the framework being provided with guides tting in place on the liner guides for the usual crisper pans, and being provided with suitable means for locking the framework in place and providing air circulation space on all sides of the framework.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the two sheets of drawings accompanying the specification,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view, showing the front of a cabinet having its liner equipped with the drawer accessories embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view in perspective, showing a multiplicity of drawers of different sizes and shapes adapted to be used in this accessory;

Fig. 3 is a View in perspective of a drawer framework embodying the invention, which may be used in the upper right hand shelf space of Fig. l in various forms;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the guides for the upper serving tray, which may be used on the framework of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the intermediate columns and guides which may be employed in Fig. 3 to complete a framework of the type shown at the upper right hand of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective on a reduced scale of a framework of the type shown at the lower left hand of Fig. 1 and adapted to be substituted for the crisper pan in this location and to be locked in place;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the lower rear corner and the lower front corner of the arent O raf'ice framework of Fig. 6 locked in place and the structure for vholding it;

Fig. 8' is a view in perspective showing how the accessory framework of Fig. 3 may be provided with spacers and securing brackets and apertures adapted to be supported on existing space in the liner wall and spaced from the liner wall and glass covers below it by suitable spacers.

Referring to Fig.. 1, this is a fragmentary front elevational view of a household refrigerator with the door open, showing a plurality of frameworks and drawer assemblies embodying the invention. The invention is illustrated in connection with the household refrigerator structure shown in the U. S. patent of Carl F. Alsing, No. 2,697,916, issued December 28, 1954.

The present frameworks are adapted to be used in the spaces occupied by the crisper pans 12?; and/ or 123 of said patent.

Referring to Fig. 1, 1t# indicates in its entirety the inner liner of such a refrigerator, having a rear wall 11, a pair of side walls 12 and 13, and a pair of face flanges 14, 15 on the liner. The liner is provided at a suitable elevation with a pair of oset brackets 16 on each liner side wall, each having a securing, flange 17 and an offset flange 18 for supporting the U-shaped drawer guides 19.

The offset 20 is adapted to space the drawers and their covers and the guides 19 from the liner side wall to permit the circulation of air about the drawers. 21 indicates a beverage or meat pan having laterally extending guide flanges 22 sliding in the guides i9 and supported thereby, but spaced from the liner on all sides.

23 indicates a glass or plastic transparent insulating sheet resting on the top of the guides 19 and closing the pan 21. 24 indicates one type of drawer assembly which is adapted to be substituted for a crisper pan of the type shown in the above-mentioned Alsing patent. 2E indicates a second form of drawer assembly adapted to be substituted for the second crisper pan of said patent.

26 indicates a third drawer assembly adapted to occupy the space 2S of said patent when the removable shelves have been removed therefrom.

Referring to Figs. 3-5, these are views in perspective of the framework employed in the unitary assembly 26. The framework 27 of this unit may comprise a lower rectangular frame 28 of a suitable size to be received in the space provided and joined to an upper framework 29 of the same shape and size by four corner columns 30.

The corner columns 30 may be secured to the upper and lower frameworks by screw bolts 31 passing through the upper and lower frameworks and threaded into threaded bores in the top and bottom of the columns 3i). The pairs of columns 30 at each side are joined by a plurality of inwardly open U-shaped guides 32, 33, 34 riveted, Welded, or bolted to the columns 3i), thus providing a framework adapted to receive three shallow, wide drawers of the type indicated at 35 in Fig. 2.

All of the drawers are fundamentally of the same construction, provided with a bottom wall 36, a pair of side walls 37 and 38, and the front and rear walls 39 and 4i), forming a container of rectangular shape in plan and elevation. The side walls 37 and 38 in each case support a pair of outwardly turned guide flanges 41, #i2 adapted to be slidably received between the horizontal anges of the U-shaped guides 32, 33, and 34.

The drawers may be of molded integral plastic construction or may be made out of sheet metal, such as aluminum, cut to a suitable pattern and welded together at the corners 43.

The framework may be made of plastic bars integrally welded together or by bolts or screws, or it may be made of suitable bars of metal.

All of the guides provided need not necessarily be used by the consumer; and thus in the assembly of No. 25 of Fig. l a wide shallow pan 35 is employed above with a pan 44 of twice the depth below.

In this case the lower guides 32 are not used;but in other embodiments the deep pan may be above and the shallow pan below, depending on which pan is desired for colder storage closer to the lower freezing evaporator of said Alsing patent.

The framework of assembly 25 is provided with the angle bar sliders 4S, 46 along each side of the frame at the top for support in the U-shaped guides 47, 48 previously used for a crisper pan. The guides 47 and 4S are supported at the front and rear by U-shaped bars 49 extending from side to side of the guide assembly and yattached to U-shaped guides 50, 51, 52, 53, 48, and 47 at the front and back, thus providing a rectangular framework carried by the side brackets 54 and 55, which brackets are of the same construction as the brackets 16 previously described.

The drawer assembly and its framework 25, when installed in place of the crisper pan, is spaced on all sides from the adjacent liner walls and covers for circulation of air. The pans are all tapered toward the bottom, thus enabling their side walls to clear adjacent unused guides, and facilitating the removal of the contents when in a stiff or frozen condition.

Referring to Fig. 5, this is a fragmentary illustration of an intermediate pair of columns 56, 57 of the type employed in the assembly 26 and adapted to be secured to the framework of Fig. 3 to provide the framework for unit 26. Vertical columns 56 and 57 are provided with the laterally extending foot and head flanges 58, 59, having apertures 66 registering with apertures 61 of the framework of Fig. 3.

Apertures 6i may be threaded to receive the screw bolts that pass through apertures 60. Columns 56 and 57 are joined by laterally open U-shaped guide members 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 located back to back and on the opposite sides of the columns at regularly spaced points for supporting drawers of the type shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 2, there are two other types of drawers 68 and 69, which may be employed in the assembly No. 26 when the intermediate columns and guides are installed. Here a shallow drawer 69 is employed above a deep narrow drawer 68, while three shallow drawers 69 are employed on the other side of the columns 57, 58.

Referring to Fig. 4, this is a fragmentary illustration of one of a pair of auxiliary guides 70, including a laterally open U-shaped member 71 carried by the vertical anges of a pair of angle brackets 72 secured to the upper lateral members of the framework 27 of Fig. 3.

This is illustrated in Fig. 1 in connection with a removable serving tray 73 of the same basic shape as the drawers previously described, but shallower than the tray 35, and slidably received in the guides 71.

Such a serving tray may be used for supporting beverages 4and glasses or salads or desserts ready for serving.

Due to the open nature of the framework of the unit 26, such a unit may be supported directly upon the glass cover 74, which is located above the guides 47, 4S and 50-53. The air may circulate about all of the pans on all sides because of the open framework.

Referring to Fig. 6, this is an illustration on a reduced scale of a unit of the type used at 25 or 24; and it may comprise an open framework or a closed sheet metal container. This unit 75 may have angle members 76, 77 with one flange secured thereto and the other projecting horizontally at the top to provide sliders receivable in the crisper guides.

In order to lock this unit in place its frame or container is provided on its front 78 adjacent the lower edge with a pair of U-shaped brackets 79, 80 forwardly open .and adapted to receive the rearwardly extending upper flange 81 of the transverse frame member 49 which carries all of the guides 47, 48 and Sil- 53. At its rear the unit 75 preferably carries a pair of resilient, bendable leaf springs 82, each of which is secured at its upper end to the unit framework by a pair of through pins 83 frictionally held in bores.

Each leaf spring 82 extends downward and is bent backward at 84 and forward at 85 to provide a hump 86 engagingk the rear liner wall 11. The springs may be compressed sufficiently to cause the front brackets 79 and 80 to clear the U-shaped frame member 49, after which the brackets 79 and 80 may be moved downward and permitted to slide forward about the upper flange 8l of the U-shaped frame member 49.

The unit is then locked in place and will not be moved by pulling on the drawers. All of the drawers are preferably provided with a suitable front handle 87, having its ends riveted or welded at 88 to the front wall 40.

Referring to Fig. 1, assembly 24, this shows a similar framework adapted to be substituted for a crisper pan and provided with a pair of shorter columns 89 supv ported by the same foot anges, but extending to a point below the upper shallow pan 35, of full depth.

ln this embodiment two lower narrow pans 69 may be employed below the upper wide pan.

Referring to Fig. 8, this is a modified unit assembly 90, in which the framework or sheet metal container is provided with spacing members 91 for spacing it from the side wall 13 of the liner and with lower feet 92 for spacing the sheet metal bottom from the adjacent glass cover.

This container 90 may have rear apertures 93 to be mounted on existing studs on the rear liner wall 11 and a side bracket 94 of hook shape to be hooked over a projecting headed stud on the liner side wall 13.

It will thus be observed that I have invented an improved variable drawer accessory for household refrigerators, in which the user is provided with the means for providing drawers of different width, depth, and size to correspond to the food articles that are stored therein; and the drawers may be located farther from or closer to the lower freezing evaporator, from which they are cooled. The householder may suit the storage space arrangements to her personal needs.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

A variable drawer accessory for household refrigerators, comprising a rectangular frame comprising four rectangular bars secured together at their ends to form a rectangle, four additional bars secured together at their ends to form a second rectangle, four columns extending between the respective corners of the two rectangular frames and secured thereto, a plurality of rectangular U-shaped channels forming, guides, and said guides having an equal number secured to the inside of two opposing pairs of columns, with the channels open inwardly and equally spaced from each other to form guides for drawers, a pair of supplementary columns extending from the upper frame to the lower frame and secured thereto at points midway between the sides of the frame, said auxiliary columns having similar guides, similar in number and equally spaced from each other, located on the opposite sides of said auxiliary columns and opening toward the guides previously described, a plurality of drawers of diierent depths slidably mounted in saidguides for storing various articles of food,l a

pair of angle members carried by the top of said frame at its opposite upper corners, said frame and latter guides being adapted to be substituted for a crisper drawer, a transverse frame member comprising a rearwardly open channel supporting a glass cover in a refrigerator below the frame, said frame having on its lower front frame member a pair of U-shaped clips forwardly open to engage the upper fiange, of the channel which sup ports said cover, the size of said frame being such that the rear of the frame extends close to the liner of the refrigerator, and a pair of resilient leaf springs carried by the lower rear portion of said frame for engaging the liner and removably urging the clips into engagement with the channel which supports said cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,115,996 Wilson Nov. 3, 1914 1,267,524 Ewart May 28, 1918 1,961,391 Reedy et al. June 5, 1934 2,074,438 Swedman Mar. 23, 1937 2,421,089 Smith May 27, 1947 2,697,916 Alsing Dec. 28, 1954 

